Rise of the Dark Lady Ginevra
by MorganWritesALot
Summary: Books 2-7 retold with a Slytherin Ginny. Ginny and Tom spend the next 6 years destroying the seven Horcruxes of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, but facing all this evil may make her something far worse. Dark!Ginny Evil!Ginny
1. Luna's Earrings

**Chapter One: Luna **

Ginny and her parents made their way through the chaotic rush of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. For eleven years she had watched her brothers, one by one, leave to go to Hogwarts, but this year was different. This year she'd finally be going with them.

"Now remember Ginny, stay close to your brothers and don't get into any trouble," her mother said, giving her daughter another _helpful _piece of advice.

"Yes, mum," she said half-heartedly, not really paying attention.

"And stay away from bad influences dear. I don't want to hear about how you've fallen in with the wrong sort," her mum said. Apparently, without Harry Potter's presence around her mother, Ginny was the target for her doting.

"I know, mum," Ginny said rolling her eyes. Ginny knew right from wrong; she wasn't going to do anything stupid, so hearing her mother go on and on was becoming quite taxing, especially when her dream was a train ride away.

"Remember dear, if you ever need anything, write or go to your brothers. We'll help any way we can,'" she said.

"Can I get on the train already?" she asked, glancing at the open train door.

"Ginny. Listen to your mother. We know you're excited, but try to be patient," her father said, his voice softening at the end.

Ginny felt her cheeks flush with warmth, "I know. I'm just so excited to finally be going to Hogwarts!"

"Do you have everything you need? We don't need to leave again and grab something?" her mother said.

"Nope, I've got everything I need," she said waving her diary at her parents.

Her parents smiled and gave her a tight hug. "Remember, you like yourself for who you are, the other kids will too," her father said. "Now go on and find your brothers."

"I promise to write every day," she said, forcing herself out of her parents' embrace and boarding the train. She turned back to wave them goodbye just as the train whistle blew.

Ginny's eyes widened once she entered the train. The interior was much smaller than she imagined it to be, especially with dozens of kids running around with their own luggage.

"Move it, kid," an older boy said, pushing past her.

Ginny's feet felt glued to the floor. She had no idea where to go. A part of her regretted going home for her diary and being separated from her brothers. Percy was busy in a prefect meeting. Fred and George would be busy getting orders from their customers, and Ron was probably with Harry and Hermione.

She sighed as she began to look for a free compartment. This started a depressing routine for her. Each compartment she'd knock on the door and ask to come in, then she'd scan the room looking for friendly faces, then she'd apologize and move on to the next one. Every compartment she'd come upon either had students much older than her, annoyed kids, or Slytherins. She frowned as she made her way into another train car.

Inside was a girl around her age looking at her. The blond girl had a far off look like she wasn't all there. She also had these weird earrings made of _real _radishes. All that might have been forgivable until she saw the girl was reading a magazine upside down.

"Room for one more?" she asked hesitantly.

The girl looked at her for a moment, her lips dipping slightly. "Yes, but are you sure you want to? You looked like you want to leave."

Ginny sputtered; she was about to tell this girl that she was not going to, but they both knew that was a lie. Instead, she smiled and closed the door, sealing them both in the compartment."Yeah, but you seem pretty cool."

The girl's eyes widened as her frown morphed into the biggest grin she'd seen. "My name is Luna. Luna Lovegood."

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, but my friends call me Ginny," she said.

"It's nice to meet you, Ginevra," Luna said.

"You can call me Ginny," she said.

"I thought you said that your friends call you Ginny," she said looking at the other girl. Clearly, social cues were lost on the girl.

Ginny laughed at the odd girl. "Yeah, and now you're one of them."

After their brief introduction, both girls became rather silent. Luna kept reading her upside-down magazine while Ginny played with a page of her diary.

A part of her was tempted to open her diary and start writing to Tom, but the last thing she needed was to seem too entertained by writing in her diary. She wasn't going to let the weird girl think _she _was the weird one.

"So, I take it you're a first-year too?" she asked, tapping her fingers on her diary.

Luna poked her head up from the magazine looking slightly surprised. Apparently, she too had thought their train ride was going to be spent in silence.

"Yes, I'm a first-year," she replied after some time.

Ginny pouted, it seemed that if she wanted to be entertained she was going to have to take the reins of this conversation.

"Me too. I'm probably going to get into Gryffindor. What house do you want to get into?"

"Ravenclaw, dad says I'm a shoo-in," the blond said rather dismissively.

"Was your dad a Ravenclaw? My entire family on both sides were in Gryffindor, so I'm set," she said, not waiting for the awkward silence to return.

"Yes, so was my mom," Luna replied.

The compartment fell silent again, and this time it was the other girl who broke it.

"Why do you seem sad about going to Gryffindor?" she asked.

Ginny looked at the other girl before looking out the window into the distance. She had completely misread this girl. Luna might be odd, but she wasn't stupid. Ginny scrunched up her face before she reluctantly answered. "I was excited, but a friend of mine has been talking to me and now I'm not so sure. It's just, I don't think I want to be in Gryffindor now. I don't want to be the runt Weasley of Gryffindor."

"Well, if you don't want to be in Gryffindor you don't have to," she said.

Ginny huffed, turning to the other girl. "My whole family has been in Gryffindor, I can't just refuse to go."

"Well can't you just ask to not be in Gryffindor?" she asked. Neither girl knew how they'd be assigned houses, but they probably could ask to switch houses.

"It's not that easy," she said, her irritation growing.

"I think it should be. You should choose the house that makes you the happiest," Luna said.

Ginny looked at Luna. This girl looked at the world in simple terms. She didn't look at the world as if there were expectations; she just saw the simplest way to do things and did it. "Well right now I think we should change topics," she said.

"I heard we've got a new defence against the dark arts teacher," Luna said.

Ginny brightened at the mention of the new teacher. "Yeah, Gilderoy Lockhart, I saw him when I was getting my school supplies. Harry Potter gave me the whole set of his books."

"Harry Potter? As in the Boy-Who-Lived?" she asked.

Ginny smiled, it seemed like even Luna wasn't immune to the lure of Harry Potter. "Yep, he's best friends with my brother; he also spent the summer at my house," she said.

The train ride wasn't as bad as it started, after a brief chat about Harry their conversations started to branch out into other non-Potter talks. Ginny learned that Luna's father owned the Quibbler and that she too lived in Ottery St. Catchpole. She told Luna about all her brothers and they talked about Quidditch.

When the train ride ended, the two girls made their way with the rest of the first years to the boats. The girls were mesmerized by the huge castle as they rowed across Black Lake. Luna told her about the giant squid, but Ginny had a hard time believing that Hogwarts would allow a dangerous creature so close to school children.

Ginny and the rest of the first-years began their trek from the lake up to the castle. Dozens of towers loomed over the castle. Orange lights shone out from hundreds of windows. The gates to the school were easily twice the Groundskeeper's size. It was exactly as she'd imagined it to be.

After what felt like hours, but was actually minutes, they made their way into the Great Hall. She waved at Fred and George and gave Percy a curt nod. Much to her dismay, she couldn't find Ron or Harry.

One by one, the first years went up to a stage to sit on a stool and have a hat placed on them. After a few moments the hat would call out a house and the student would make their way over to the respective house table. True to her word, Luna ended up in Ravenclaw.

Ginny was one of the last students remaining when she heard Professor McGonagall call her name. She rushed up the stairs only to trip on the final one. Her face became nearly as red as her hair as she rose to her feet and dusted herself off. The twins were probably red from laughter and Percy was probably trying hard to school his features.

Ginny held her head high as she made her way over to the stool despite the continued laughter of the students. McGonagall gave her a pitying look before she placed the hat on her head.

**_Hmm. Another Weasley. _**the hat said, his voice ringing in her head.

_Let me guess Gryffindor? she thought, not quite sure how this thing worked._

**_Maybe, but let's see what our options are._**

**_You work hard and fight for everything you have. Perhaps Hufflepuff. No, no, you're much too used to cheating and breaking the rules for a puff. Or how about Ravenclaw with your friend Luna? Ha! Ravenclaw isn't an option. You can study, but you hate it._**

Ginny frowned at the hat. Nobody mentioned that she'd be humiliated before she got sorted. _Are you going to put me in Gryffindor or not?_

The hat bristled at her snide comment and muttered to itself.

**_You don't seem happy about it?_**

Ginny paused for a moment before she spoke.

_I don't know if I want to be in Gryffindor._

**_We've got two houses to go, let's see where you fit. _**

**_You're brave as a lion, you have nerve and daring, you're a perfect Gryffindor._**

_Ginny's stomach started to roll. _

**_Hmm. Let's see if what Slytherin has to offer. You're pureblood, but you don't support blood purity. You're cunning. You're resourceful too, sneaking through the night to steal your brothers' brooms and learning to fly on your own. Hmm, tell me, Miss Weasley, what do you want?_**

Ginny sighed and thought about what she wanted. She told Tom she didn't want a thing, but deep down she knew that wasn't true.

_I want to be special. I don't want to be just another Weasley. I'm more than the runt of the family. I'm more than the girl. I want to be more._

**_Perhaps Slytherin._**

Ginny's heart sank.

_No, please don't._

The hat sighed in frustration.

**_What's wrong with Slytherin? _**

_I'm not a Slytherin. _

**_On the contrary, you have the makings of a great Slytherin. Tell me, why are you afraid of Slytherin?_**

_My family hates Slytherin house, and if I join, I won't make any friends._

**_I see your family's views on Slytherin are what's holding you back, but you don't want to join them in Gryffindor. I can't say how your family will react, I'm just a hat after all, but I can tell you this, Slytherin is a house where you will make your dreams come true. _**

Ginny shuffled in her seat and looked into the crowd at the students. The Slytherin students seemed to be having just as much fun as the other students. They seemed like normal happy kids.

_Will I be happy in Slytherin? _

**_Only if you're want to be. Only if you're willing to put yourself out there in..._ **

**_Slytherin!_**


	2. Snape's Advice

**I'd Like to say thank you to my Beta readers Miqdad_Suleman, SurbhitSrivastava and jakky567 for all their wonderful help without them this story would've never had a chapter one let alone a chapter two. **

Scattered applause rang throughout the Great Hall, mostly from muggleborns unaware of the significance of that historic moment. Their applause seemed to rouse the halfblood and pureblood students as they tentatively began to clap.

Ginny stumbled off the stool, her legs felt like jelly, as she realized the gravity of her situation. She'd willingly agreed to be a Slytherin. Ginny sighed and held her head up high. The hat said she was in Slytherin, so she was in Slytherin, and there was no turning back now. She made her way down to her table and shook hands with the female Slytherin prefect, Mafalda Perks, who seemed to be eyeing her brother Percy. Ginny turned to her brother giving him a fragile smile before turning to face her fellow classmates.

_Remember what the hat said, "keep an open mind."_

"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley, it's a pleasure to meet all of you," she said, before taking her seat.

The other Slytherin first years offered her half-hearted handshakes and murmured greetings trickled out in response to her own. Every attempt at conversation was met with one-word responses. Ginny sighed, turning to her meal. Ginny gnawed at her food trying her hardest to fill the pit that was growing in her stomach.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

After a mostly silent meal, Dumbledore called an end to the feast. As if practiced, the entire Slytherin table got up in unison and started making their way to wherever they would be staying.

Ginny stumbled as she tried to match the pace of the other students. Every step she took gained her a glare from other students as the sound of her footsteps broke the harmonious march. Ginny glared back at the students that dared to glare at her as she tried her hardest to mimic the other students' pace. It wasn't perfect, but at least the other students had stopped staring at her.

The horde of students descended into the depths of the castle. The warmth of the Great Hall was leeched off of her as they made their way to the dungeons.

A warm breeze washed over her as she entered her common room. The momentary comfort was quickly forgotten when she glanced at the imposing, icy form of Professor Snape. The students silently split into rows based on year. _Luckily _for Ginny and the other first years they were given a front-row seat to Professor Snape's dreaded snare.

"I'll keep this brief, I'm sure you all have much to do this evening. Welcome back to Hogwarts. This year will be no different from the previous one or any of the years I have been the head of this house. I expect one thing from you all and that is discipline."

"For those of you who are new here, this is your one and only warning. Insubordination, dawdling, and rule-breaking of any kind will be punished severely. I do not tolerate bullying and bullies will be dealt with."

"I expect that you will maintain a sense of pride and decorum. Remember, at Hogwarts, you represent more than yourself. You represent your family and your house."

"If you need any help I will be available to help with scholastic endeavours and extracurricular affairs. On the rare occasion that I am not available, the prefects will happily aid you, this year our fifth-year prefects are Ms. Perks and Mr. Warrington."

"For those of you in your seventh year, the sign-up for N.E.W.T study groups will be posted on the notice board sometime this week. For those of you in fifth year, the O.W.L practice will be done every month and, in the final month, every week before the O.W.L's"

"That is all for now. If you'll excuse me, I have two nuisances to deal with," he said, making his way to the exit.

"Listen up you little piglets, first-year girls are with me," Mafalda said as she led the girls to a hallway in the back of the common room. The girls followed Mafalda as they made their way further down into their dorm. Every open door they passed were filled with girls younger than the last. It seemed like the older you got the closer you got to the entrance. In Slytherin, seniority had its perks.

After descending further into the dungeon, the girls made their way to the last door in the hallway.

"This is where you'll stay," Mafalda said, opening the door.

The room was filled with two rows of canopy beds with green and silver sheets. Along the walls, there were portraits and tapestries. The tapestries depicted witches and wizards performing some great deed. The portraits were, oddly, non-moving, depicting some distinguished looking people with a family crest above the top of the frame.

The girls took a moment to take in their surroundings before they made their way over to their beds. The twins, Hestia and Flora, whipped out their wands and pushed their beds together. Ginny wondered for a moment where she'd be sleeping when she noticed the condition of their trunks. Most of them were brand new and had some combination of green and silver. No doubt they cost a few hundred Galleons.

Ginny made her way over to her worn down trunk. It seemed she was the furthest from the door and unlike all the other girls, her section of the wall was completely bare. She wondered if this was some sort of prank, but she doubted it, all the students were at the feast this evening and nobody knew she'd be in Slytherin until the hat said so. The little red-headed girl sighed and moved to unpack.

A feeling of dread filled her when she placed her hand on the handle. She knew what was waiting for her when she opened her trunk. She was the one to pack her trunk, but that still didn't make it easier when she opened it.

Red and gold. Everything in her suitcase had some splash of red or gold. Ginny cursed herself, she'd been so occupied with what house she'd be in she never took into consideration she'd packed her suitcase full of Gryffindor stuff. The pit in her stomach grew as she realized that there was no way her parents would be able to afford to send her new uniforms; they had to take out a loan for her just to go to school. Not only was she the Weasley in Slytherin, but now she'd be the weirdo who didn't wear her house colours.

Before she could spiral into a further headache, a voice called out "Hey, Weasley, Professor Snape wanted to see you in his office once I brought the rest of the girls up here." She turned to find Mafalda and silently followed her. The two girls made their way through the school to wherever Snape was.

They stopped before an ordinary door with a placard that read _Professor Snape, Potions Master. _The older girl leaned up against the wall and pointed her head to the door. Ginny held her breath and she entered the office.

Professor Snape sat behind his desk, scowling as he wrote something in a journal. She waited uncomfortably as he put down his quill. The dark-haired man was everything her brothers described him as. Painfully thin, with oily hair and a hooked nose.

Snape looked up at her; his face changing from the sneer that she'd seen all night to a look of ambivalence. "Miss Weasley, please remember in the future to knock before entering. You may be in my house, but I am not hesitant to deduct points for such rudeness."

Ginny glanced away from the professor. "I-I'm sorry, I was told you needed me."

The professor sighed. "Yes, I've summoned you here to offer you some... reassurance," he said as if the idea of kindness was a foreign concept to him. The professor continued, forcing himself to take a gentler tone. "From what I was able to gather from tonight's feast, you had a hard time fitting in. I understand that Slytherin may not be the house you wanted to get sorted into, and you may find it difficult to adjust to your new surroundings. I just wanted you to know that I am here to help."

This entire night had been filled with a lot of highs and lows, but the thought of the meanest professors in Hogwarts actually taking pity on her made Ginny want to cry. Her mouth began to open and close as she processed his words.

_How pathetic do I have to be for Snape to pity me?_

Snaped looked at her expectantly as if he was waiting for the noise to come with her gaping. For a moment, Ginny wondered if she should bother to ask him about her uniform situation, but she figured that it would fall to her parents to handle. It wasn't his responsibility to keep her clothed. A smile leapt to her face as she imagined the absurdity of the foreboding professor taking her to Madame Malkin's to get robes.

The professor's voice shook her out of her thoughts. "Miss Weasley, I wasn't lying when I said I have a hatred for bullies. If anyone is bullying you, don't hesitate to tell me."

"T-thank you, Professor, I will," sensing the end of their conversation, Ginny made her way to the door.

"One more thing before you leave. This afternoon I had to discipline your brother, Ronald and his friend, Harry Potter. Had they been in Slytherin, they would have been expelled. The only reason they weren't was because of Professor Dumbledore. The same protection he has does not extend to you. If you take after your more troublesome brothers I can assure you your punishment will be most severe."

She had her hand on the doorknob. If she opened the door she'd be free of this ghoul, but something about being threatened made her blood boil. The part of her brain that controlled fight or flight always seemed to be stuck on "fight". Ginny glanced over her shoulder. "Thank you Professor, I'll keep that in mind. Though I should tell you something. You don't need to worry about me. The hat didn't put me here." She pulled the door open and said, "I _chose _to be in Slytherin.

"So, what was all that about?" Mafalda asked once they were far enough way.

"Oh, you know, Professor Snape was being his typical, delightful self," she said.

Mafalda chuckled. "Cheeky kid. That might fly with me, but not every Slytherin is going to be charmed by you. This house lives and dies on fraternity, so next time a senior asks for info just give it, or they might hex you."

"How on earth is that fraternity?"

The older girl sighed and looked her in the eye. She gave her a warm smile and said, "we might hex you, but we won't let you be hexed by someone from another house. You can trust that we look out for our own. However, that trust is a two-way street, we'll lie, cheat and steal for you, but that only works if you're willing to do the same for us."

The two girls continued to walk back to their dorms when they found Percy pacing outside the dungeons.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? The great Percy Weasley coming down to see us lowly Slytherins," she said, giving him the biggest smile she could muster.

Percy frowned, looking away from the girl. "Hello, Mafalda. I just stopped by to see my sister," he said, sounding rather strained.

"Oh, Percy you wound me so, and here I thought you came all this way for me," she said.

Mafalda" Percy pleaded.

"Ha, fine. Don't be such a wet blanket. I'm just teasing. Have her home before lights out or I'll tell Snape it was your fault she broke curfew. Oh, and the password is ancestry," she said, then she left the two alone.

When the door closed, Percy rushed to hug her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Snape wanted to see me in his office, so he could help me adjust to being in Slytherin," Ginny said, forcing herself out of the hug.

Percy stopped and looked directly at his sister. "Sorry. I'm just worried about you. Having you come to school was already stressful enough, but now that you're in another house I can't watch over you as I planned. I just came by to tell you if you need anything don't be afraid to ask."

"I will, you don't need to worry though; Snape said, he'd watch out for me too," she said.

Percy glanced away, probably because of the sheer awkwardness of Snape helping others. "Yeah, Snape's always been good at handling problems between other Slytherins. I just don't want to hear how some git's bullying my little sister," he said. " Oh, by the way, I'm writing to mum and dad, do you want to tell them anything?"

"Already? Why?" she asked.

Percy let out an exasperated sigh. "Ron and Harry stole dad's car and crashed it into a tree. They're going to want to know what happened to the car."

"Why did they do that?"

"I don't know. Snape hauled them off to Dumbledore's office," he said. "Are you sure you don't want anything?"

Ginny felt the queasy feeling she got whenever she asked for something. She experienced enough "no's" in life for her to understand what happens when she asked for things. Still, this wasn't a doll she wanted, this was important. "Actually, can you tell mum and dad that I'm going to need some Slytherin ties and stuff. I'm also going to have to send home a bunch of my Gryffindor stuff."

"Crap. Of course, you're going to need a new wardrobe now that you're in Slytherin." Percy said, the implications of her being in Slytherin dawning on him. "Sure, I'll tell them, but don't expect much."

"I'm not, but I don't have a choice," she said, rubbing her arm.

"It's going to be alright. Just don't go making friends with the wrong sort," he said.

"I won't. Plus, I already have one friend," she said, smiling to her brother.

"Oh, who?"

"Tom Riddle."


	3. Cedrella's Gift

**I would like to thank my Beta readers Miqdad Suleman & Surbhit Srivastava for their help, without them you wouldn't get this story so thank them.**

_ Dear Ginevra,_

_ I know it's been a long time since I have written, but I couldn't help but write to congratulate you once I heard about your sorting. Thank Merlin, one of my grandchildren managed to get sorted into Slytherin. When your father told me about your sorting, I cried. I am so happy for you._

_ Arthur told me that he and Molly hadn't considered the possibility of you being in other houses, so you never packed anything other than Gryffindor colours. I imagine this has lead to some awkwardness between you and your housemates given your lack of supplies. Don't you fret. Once I heard about what had happened, I dusted off my old school uniforms and will be hand delivering them to you. I know they aren't brand new, but I was a proper young lady and never got a single stain on anything I owned, so you shouldn't worry too much._

_ I will come and visit you today once your classes have finished for the day. I have already made arrangements with Professor Dumbledore to take you to Hogsmeade for a little chat._

_ I know you may not like your house, but I'm so very proud of you. Slytherin is the house of the ambitious and the cunning and I know you can rise up and become someone truly great if you embrace the best qualities of our house._

_ Your Loving Grandmother, Cedrella._

Ginny stuffed the letter into her pocket as she made her way to the Entrance Hall. She hadn't had much faith in her parents coming to the rescue, so receiving her grandmother's letter had left her quite surprised.

"Gramma!" Ginny yelled as she flung herself into her grandmother's warm embrace.

Cedrella lifted Ginny off the ground returning the hug in full force squeezing all the air out of the poor girl. Old age might've given her snow-white hair, but it hadn't robbed her of an ounce of her strength. "Oh my, it's so wonderful to see you again, Ginevra."

Ginny stumbled back when her feet finally touched the ground. "Gramma, I told you I don't like it when people call me that!" she said. Ginny glanced down at the trunk at her feet and to the headmaster standing beside them.

"Oh, but Ginevra's such a dignified name," she said.

"I shall have this sent down to your quarters, Miss Weasley. I presume you will have her back here before curfew, Cedrella."

A devious grin spread across her face. "Oh no, not so fast Professor. I might be a respected member of society, it might be fifty years since I've been a student, and I might have fake teeth, but don't you dare think for a second I'm going to let you walk away unscathed."

"Cedrella, you can't be serious?" the professor asked, completely baffled at the gall of this woman.

The elderly woman gave him a fiendish smile. "Candy me, old man!"

Dumbledore sighed, before reaching into his pocket and giving both of them a few candies. "I had hoped you'd have grown out of that."

"Are you kidding? When I die I'm going to have those words carved onto my tombstone," She said unwrapping a treat. "Now that Ginevra's here she's going to be the one to steal all your candy. Remember dear, whenever you see the professor ask him for candy and if he holds out on you sneak into his office and take all his candy."

"Miss Weasley, I am more than happy to share my candy with you there's no reason you need to barge into my office unannounced, do remember that," he said before taking the trunk and walking away.

"Well then, I suppose that's our cue to leave," she said. They walked outside to one of the carriages was waiting for them. Cedrella stopped, scowling at the carriage.

"Grandma, are you all right?"

"Yes. I... this was the first time I've ever seen a thestral before."

"Thestral?! B-but why does Hogwarts let those things near children?"

"Honestly, my grandfather hated the students; he used to say it was our own damn fault if we got hurt," Cedrella said grabbing the scared child and guiding her into the carriage.

The two rode in silence as Cedrella looked out into the distance, a wistful smile spread across her face as the old witch remembered more innocent times of her youth.

Ginny sat quietly waiting for the ride to end. She glanced around at the scenery, not really paying attention to her surroundings until her eyes locked on to the village of Hogsmeade. Once they entered Hogsmeade the Ginny gawked at every shop, person, and sign they came.

The carriage went past the tiny shops and quaint houses of the village down to more residential buildings. One side of the road was littered with old Victorian-style houses on the other side a large hedge blocked whatever was on the other side from view.

Once the carriage stopped, Cedrella helped Ginny out of the carriage as the little girl stared at a large two-story building. The Slytherin crest on the front of the gate immediately established to any passerby that this was Slytherin territory.

Her grandmother placed her hand on the gate. "Cedrella Weasley née Black, class of '27. Ginevra Molly Weasley, class of '92." Cedrella knelt down and whispered. "Ginevra, eyes forward, back straight, and head high. Best manners, we're being watched."

Ginny immediately did as her grandmother asked. Her heart started to beat a little faster. In all her life, she'd never heard her grandmother talk to her like that. As the two began to walk, Ginny started to walk like how she did after the opening feast.

When they entered the restaurant, it became apparent that the clientele of this restaurant were predominantly older women. Ginny had to be at least 40 years younger than most of the women in the restaurant. They wore fancy robes with garishly bright pastel colours and smelt like they bathed in perfume.

As they were being shown to their seats, her grandmother's demeanour had shifted. She had the same aristocratic haughtiness that the older seventh-year girls had. Most of the women would take one glance at her, then one glance at her grandmother and then promptly find the floor rather interesting.

Ginny sat with her back to most of the women in the restaurant as her grandmother's eyes kept darting around the room. Ginny felt the weight of the appraising looks vanish one after another. After a minute of silence, Cedrella rubbed her eyes before setting them back on her granddaughter. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here, Ginny."

"It's alright," Ginny said. She didn't really know what she was forgiving her grandmother for, but she had a feeling that it was because of her. She knew somehow that being a Weasley was something to be ashamed of.

"We should probably eat," she said turning to the menu.

Ginny scanned the menu, looking for anything that looked good, or that she, at the very least, knew. Apparently, these old hags were too good for fish and chips. When she finally did see something she liked, her eyes immediately went to the prices. The little redheaded girl didn't have the healthiest complexion as is, but the sight of these made the pale girl look sickly. "Gramma, there's no way you can afford this. We should get out of here."

"Oh, it's fine dear," her grandmother said, not even bothering to look up.

"No, it's not. Forty galleons for soup, fifty for a sandwich. This place is too expensive."

Just as Ginny was about to get up, her grandmother locked eyes with her, forcing the girl back into her seat. "Everything's fine. When I was in school, Patricia Parkinson, the woman who owns this place, nearly got expelled. I helped get her out of trouble and as an I.O.U I get to eat free here."

"What did she do?" she asked, turning her attention back to the menu.

"Can't say. Black family honour, we always keep our secrets." her grandmother said. Cedrella looked away from her granddaughter, her eyes focusing on something behind Ginny. The telltale click of high heels got louder and louder as the figure approached. Instead of scowling Cedrella's expression shifted to a look of bored indifference.

Ginny turned around once the clicking stopped. To her surprise, she found a woman only thirty years older than her.

The woman looked vaguely familiar with long blond hair and blue eyes. Unlike the other women, she wore tight black and white business robes that screamed money. Whoever this woman was, Ginny knew she should be afraid if her grandmother's glare couldn't frighten her off.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the great Cedrella Weasley," the woman said, condescension dripping from every syllable.

"What are you doing here?" Cedrella said, not even bothering to look at the woman.

"Me? I come all the time, it's so rare to see you grace the world with your presence," the blond woman said with faux concern.

"Forgive me. I think you've been misinformed. I grace the world with my presence quite frequently, it's just that you never seem to make the guest list," she said flipping to another page in her menu.

The woman stood a little taller. "Well, we should change that; after all, we are family."

Cedrella finally turned to face the woman. "I'm pretty sure excommunication is life long."

"To be fair, that wasn't my doing," she said.

"Yes, well maybe we can visit dear Sirius and your beloved sister Bellatrix and see about restoring me to a proper place in our distinguished family. I hear Azkaban is lovely this time of year," Cedrella said in a sugar sweet tone.

The woman's eye twitched before she spoke in a very controlled manner. "Speaking of our distinguished family, this wouldn't happen to be your granddaughter, would it? She's made quite the stir in the past few days."

Cedrella glared at the woman. "Forgive me, where are my manners. Ginevra, this is your third cousin, Narcissa Malfoy."

Ginny looked at the older woman once more, seeing more and more of the resemblance to her son Draco with every second. Much to her disgust, she saw her grandmother's aristocratic features in Mrs. Malfoy. Never in her entire life had she been more grateful to look like the spitting image of her mother then she was at this moment.

The two witches stared at each other. Ginny held her gaze not daring to look away. If this old hag thought she could scare her, she had another thing coming.

"Well, you've certainly got that Weasley fire," she said, sounding rather pleased with herself.

Ginny broke eye contact; for whatever reason, she somehow lost.

"Narcissa, as fun as it is to see you, I'm here to have dinner with my granddaughter," Cedrella said.

"Oh forgive me, I should be going. Have a wonderful evening," she said.

A waitress walked over watching as Mrs. Malfoy left. The young witch had curly black hair, blue eyes, and pale fair skin; all of which were probably ignored by most patrons as the young woman's proportions were inhuman. She had a waist as thin as Ginny's and breasts almost as large as her head. Ginny could feel the rush of blood to her face as she focused intently on her menu, her mother's lecture about gawking at others not quite forgotten.

"Ah Top Hat, it's so wonderful to see you again," her grandmother said.

"Mrs. Weasley, a pleasure as always, and who might this be?" she asked.

"My granddaughter, Ginevra."

"Well hello, sweetie, what can I get you," she said, leaning over to get a better look at the girl.

Ginny glanced up from her menu at the older woman, her eyes, against her will, once again locked on to the other girl's chest until she forced herself to look at the girl's top hat instead. If she was going to stare she might as well choose the least offensive thing to stare at. "I'm fine, I'll have the chicken panini with truffle sauce and orange and basil juice."

"I'll have my usual," Cedrella said.

Once Top Hat left, the two witches sat in silence. Ginny stared down at the fancy silk tablecloth. The tablecloth was probably worth more than all the stuff she was wearing combined. It didn't need to be said because she knew she had as much of a right to be here as she had of being in Slytherin.

"Gramma I-"

"Don't. She was going to criticize you no matter what you did. If you had backed down and stayed quiet, she would've called you a mousy little thing. When it comes to women like her the only way to win is to insult her by going after her pride. Treat her kindly and respectfully as any other person. You handled her well enough." Her Grandmother sighed. "So, how was your first day?"

Ginny played with the hem of her skirt. "Okay, I guess," she said not meeting her grandmother's eyes.

"Well, that's good to hear. For a second I thought that being separated from your brothers in a house your family has disparaged all your life, filled with girls much richer than you, who probably look down on you might be a bit worrying, but I'm glad to know everything's okay," her grandmother said, giving her a knowing look.

So this is where I get my attitude from.

"Fine. All those things are true. I'm scared I made the wrong choice. I just don't know if Slytherin's the right place for me," Ginny huffed.

Cedrella smiled at her granddaughter. "Ginny, do you know what this place is?"

"I'm guessing you want me to say something more than just a restaurant," Ginny said, playing with the silverware.

"This is the Parkinson's tea house. Here is where the backroom deals of the Wizengamot are made. This restaurant is the center of change within the wizarding world. I brought you here to show these witches the future of the wizarding world."

"But you said it was bad for me to come here," she said.

Cedrella reached out and held her hand. "I did, because I forgot you're still young. I got so excited that you were going to be great, I forgot that you have to prove it. Ginny, you've got a lot of eyes on you and a lot of people are going to want to see you slip up, but if you manage to become someone great, you'll blow us all away."

Ginny felt scared that a bunch of old ladies were going to be gunning for her, but she couldn't deny the twinge of pride she felt. "That's really great and all, but I don't know what I want to be right now."

"That's fine. You don't have to know what you want. I settled down and raised kids. Just know that the reason why all of these witches are watching you is that they see what I see. We all believe you are special," she said

"I'm just a kid. I just started school," she said.

Her grandmother looked at her for a moment. "Faux humility doesn't suit you. Tell me, Ginevra, why did you want to be in Slytherin? It's pretty obvious to me and anyone who thinks about it the only way a brave girl like you gets into Slytherin is if they asked to be."

"I. I...

"Ginny, wanting things isn't a sin. You can tell me anything: I won't judge."

"I want to be special. I want to be great and big and everything you guys think I can be. The hat told me I had to put myself out there, but I don't know if I can do this. My family hates Slytherin," she said, letting out all the tension and shame those words had.

Her grandmother smirked. "You see, this is the other reason why I came here. Ginny, people often demonize Slytherin so much that they make you scared of being a Slytherin. They say Slytherin is the house of evil. That there wasn't a witch or wizard who never went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. Ha! Dumbledore and his ilk just want to tarnish the good name of Slytherin."

"Ginny, let me tell you a little story my family found out about Dumbledore. When Dumbledore was a young man he was friends with Grindelwald."

"You can't...

"Yes, that Grindelwald. We have the auror report to prove. He's the reason Grindelwald softened his position and used all that talk of the "greater good". If it wasn't for Grindelwald torturing his brother, Dumbledore would've helped him enslave Muggles. Slytherin isn't going to make you evil, dear, Gryffindors are just as capable of becoming evil."

Ginny didn't really know how to process this new information, the idea that Albus Dumbledore was best friends with the darkest wizard of all time wasn't something she could believe, but the utter sincerity of her grandmother's gaze didn't leave much room for debate.

Her grandmother sighed softening her tone. "On to more pressing matters. You've got a lot of time to figure things out, but you're still an eleven-year-old girl. And all that anybody is expecting of you is to do well in school and make friends."

"That was really beautiful when I have grandkids I'm going to tell them that," Top Hat said delivering their food.

* * *

Cedrella and Ginny walked the halls of Hogwarts. Every now and then her grandmother would stop and comment, some of the times about a hidden passage or historical facts and other times to disparage some fault of the school.

"I never understood why they let the Bloody Baron be our house ghost. That man always scared me as a child. Really, whoever thought that a man covered in blood was a good choice to watch over kids should have been sacked," Cedrella said, as they walked into her living quarters.

"Yeah, he creeps me out too. Between him and Snape, they really did give us all the mean people to watch over us," she said.

"Severus Snape is one of the most brilliant men I've ever met. He's a git, but he's a brilliant git. Remember to pay attention to his classes," she said.

Her grandmother stopped and stared at the blank wall beside her bed. "I see you didn't put up a portrait."

"I didn't even know we were supposed to bring that kind of stuff with us," she said.

"A lot of the girls like to show off their status with a picture of a noble ancestor. I'll have to get you one," Cedrella said.

"I don't think the Weasley's have anything like that."

Or at the very least one that would be welcome in Slytherin.

"Oh, Ginny, your family does have its fair share of great wizards. Your Grandfather broke into my family house and rescued me after my parents forbade me to be with him. Your uncles Fabian and Gideon fought half a dozen Death Eaters alone. And I'll have you know I was quite the witch growing up. Your parents might not want to admit it, but they are purebloods and do come from good breeding. But for now, let's focus on your trunk," her grandmother said.

Ginny watched as her grandmother whipped out her wand and watched as the small trunk shifted and expanded. Many of the girls in the room stopped what they were doing and stared as the trunk kept on growing. When it was finally done changing a large ornate wardrobe stood nearly twice the size of Ginny. A large family crest was etched on to the top with the words Property of Cedrella Black written in gold.

"This was the wardrobe that I used for school. I'm sure it will suit you well. Now hold out your hands. I need to transfer ownership."

With a quick flick of her wand, a red liquid floated into the air. It took Ginny a moment to realize her grandmother had cut her, extracted blood, and sealed the wound all before she could even process what had happened.

She watched as her blood was placed on the coat of arms. Her grandmother hissed as another streak of blood floated from her hand to the coat of arms. She muttered a small incantation as the two steaks of blood moved over the coat of arms until it covered it completely. The blood was slowly absorbed,it was absorbed into the wood, revealing a new coat of arms. It was a blue and black shield with a fox standing proudly. The golden words shifted to Property of Ginevra Molly Weasley.

"Well? Are you going to stand there all day or do you plan to open it up?" Cedrella asked.

Ginny clutched the handles of the wardrobe and pulled it open. Her eyes widen when she saw inside was a series of racks each with hundreds of outfits on them.

"It's pretty easy to work this thing. Flick your wand up and down for the type and season of the clothes and side to side for the colour, fabric, and lengths. Hats and ribbons are on the top drawer, just flick your wand side to side. Jewellery is on the side cupboards. Mostly just some silver emerald brooches and pins, but I did buy some gold stuff from time to time. Ties, coats, and scarves are on the other side. Finally, shoes are in the bottom drawer. Fair warning, those are probably the most worn out things I own."

"This is too much," Ginny said. When her grandmother told her she was going to be getting some hand me downs she was expecting some ties, a skirt or two, and maybe a cloak, but never in her wildest dreams did she expect this.

"No, this was what I was accustomed to growing up. This is what a black heiress is expected to have. Ginny, if it makes you feel more comfortable, just remember, these are all hand me downs that I've had in storage for fifty years," Cedrella said, as she scowled at her granddaughter's patchwork robes and second-hand books.

"Still..."

"If you want to make this up to me, get high marks in class," she said.

"Promise," Ginny said, hugging her grandmother.

* * *

Cedrella stepped out of the Floo and dusted herself off as she stepped into the burrow, Two days since school started and the place was still in need of a cleaning. You'd think that as a housewife, the least Molly would do was keep a tidy home.

"Mum, what a pleasure to see you. Did you talk to Ginny? Did she like her present?" Arthur said.

"No, dear, I just wasted three hours of my life delivering the most valuable thing my granddaughter owns and stole an empty trunk. Of course she liked my gift, Arthur."

"Well, I'm just glad she did. Thanks for coming through for us mum," Arthur said, not even flinching at his mother's words.

Cedrella hugged him as tight as she could. "I saw the boys today before I left. It got me thinking, maybe you can call Willam and Charles and we can all be together for Christmas."

"Yeah, sure, the boys will love that," Arthur said.

"Good, family should spend time with one another."


	4. Ginny's Boredom

**I would like to thank my Beta readers MooMooGoat, Anya Masuson & Surbhit Srivastava for their help, without them you wouldn't get this story so thank them. **

Ginny smiled as she felt the smooth touch of her silk housecoat. In all her life she'd never felt clothes this soft before. Her grandmother's wardrobe was packed full of the finest clothes money could buy, the only downside being that she only wore green, black, grey, or white.

The little redhead marvelled at the pins, earrings and other accessories. A part of her felt weird to be so excited to be putting on Slytherin colours, but the rush of trying on a couple of her grandmother's old jewelry quelled any discomfort she had.

Ginny struck a pose as she looked herself over in the mirror. Besides the typical Hogwarts uniform, she added a few accessories: a green headband, a Slytherin pin, and a silver ring. Ginny didn't look any different from how she looked yesterday, but she felt so powerful wearing her new clothes. For a moment she felt like one of those older well-to-do Slytherin girls.

After a few minutes of staring at herself in the mirror, Ginny picked up her books and placed them in her satchel. Ginny held her breath as she made her way through the common room. None of the other students noticed as she walked by in her new robes.

Walking out of her dorm she was greeted by the exasperated looks on her brothers.

A moment of silence passed over the five of them as nobody really knew what to say. Ginny looked at her brothers in their old patched up robes.

"Hi, what are you guys doing here?" she asked clutching her satchel.

"We came here to check up on you."

"After Gran came by yesterday," Fred and George said.

"So those are the clothes she got you?" Ron asked.

It wasn't uncommon in the Weasley family to have to make do with hand-me-downs, so one of them getting something new was often met with some amount of jealousy.

"We should just be grateful that Gran came through for Ginny; the last thing mom and dad need right now is to have to buy a new set of uniforms," Percy said. A wave of understanding passed over the siblings.

With that, the Weasleys started to make their way through to the Great Hall.

"How long were you guys standing out there for?" she asked.

"Oh a few minutes," Percy said.

"Pfft, more than a few minutes," Fred said

"Mister high and mighty Prefect here said that he could get one of the kids to get you, but we waited for 20 minutes outside like a bunch of tossers," George said.

"Hey, it would've worked, but Perks has it out for me," Percy said.

"What did you do to her?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing. She just thinks I'm a pompous jerk," he said.

"Oh, so she's completely right then," Ron said.

"So what do you guys think of my new uniform?" she asked.

"It's fine," Ron said.

"Awe don't be like that Ronniekins," Fred teased.

"Yeah, I'm sure if you asked nicely Ginny will let you borrow one of her skirts," George added.

The siblings laughed together as they entered the Great Hall.

* * *

"Well that was a bust," Ginny said to Luna as the two left Professor McGonagall's class.

"If the professor won't teach you, maybe you should read ahead?" Luna said.

"Nah, if I do that her class is going to be boring. She said that private lessons were for struggling students or exceptional circumstances," she said. Ginny pressed her lips. "McGonagall, Hagrid, and Flitwick all turned me down."

Luna looked at her friend rather pitifully. "You can always do self-study. I'm sure you'd find lots of neat things. Plus, you can't trust the staff; the ministry controls everything. That's why they don't teach us about all sorts of things."

"Like nargles?" she asked. Being shot down by half the staff was a blow to her ego, which Luna's Lunaness had a way of mending.

"Yes, that's why I'm going to make you a bottlecap necklace; that way you can repel nargles too," she said.

"I don't know… my gran's Wardrobe is pretty tough. I don't think I have to worry about nargles," she said playing with her silk coat.

Ginny eyed the necklace the girl wore disdainfully. That necklace and those radish earrings were half the reason people made fun of Luna. Maybe if she didn't wear that stuff "nargles" wouldn't keep taking her stuff. There was no way she'd put one of those things on.

"Maybe it's the cold? Nargles might not be able to survive the cold," Luna said, sound a bit less enthusiastic than she normally did.

After a week of having Luna as her sole companion in Hogwarts, Ginny was starting to pick certain things up about the other girl.

"Yeah, or maybe they're afraid of me? I do throw a pretty mean Bat-Bogey," Ginny said, twirling her wand in her hand. Ginny smiled at the thought of seeing a couple of her roommates running around being chased by bats crawling out of their noses.

"That's awful. Ginny, you shouldn't do that. Nargles don't mean to hurt you — they just do it for fun," she said.

"Hey, I haven't done anything yet. I didn't hex a single nargle," she said, waving her arms defensively. "The nargles seem to be ignoring me."

"Don't be sad. I'm sure you'll get their attention someday."

With that, the two parted ways, making their way to their respective tables in the Great Hall. Ginny looked around, noticing the lack of students at her table before sitting down in front of Astoria Greengrass.

Both girls looked at each other as they ate in silence. Every now and then they'd glance at one another. After an ungodly amount of time in silence, Astoria ended both of their suffering.

"Why do you hang out with that weirdo?" the brunette asked.

"She's not so bad. At least she talks to me," Ginny said.

"She's such a freak; she always had this far off look like she's not all here," she said.

"And who should I hang out with? Hestia and Flora? I mean after all, they're such great conversationalists," Ginny said taking the same disinterested look the Carrow twins usually sported in class. Both girls giggled at the thought of their more reserved roommates.

"Hey, why aren't you with your sister?" Ginny asked. "Don't you two normally eat lunch together?"

"She's busy," she said before returning to her food.

Whatever goodwill she just earned was hurled away with that last comment. "She kicked you out didn't she." Ginny interrupted before she could deny it. "I'm a little sister too, yah know. I know when someone's being left out."

"She's at the Quidditch pitch with the other girls. She's trying to get Draco Malfoy's attention, but Pansy Parkinson won't let her. They're sort of romantic rivals," she said.

"Wait, Quidditch tryouts are today?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

Ginny quickly chugged the rest of her drink and grabbed her sandwich before leaving the other girl.

"What's gotten into you?"

"I love Quidditch. There's no way I'm missing out on tryouts," Ginny said as she left with her half-eaten sandwich.

Astoria looked at the other girl, then to her food, then back to the half-empty table before saying, "Wait don't leave me!"

* * *

Ginny rolled her wrist as she walked down the steps of the dungeon. She scowled thinking of the smug look Lockhart had when he confiscated her diary. It was his own fault really; the great Gilderoy Lockhart was clearly a fraud. If she was going to get any Defense Against the Dark Arts training she was going to have to rely on Tom.

"Now remember Miss Weasley, journals are all well and good, but you must always remember there is a time and place for such things," she said mocking the professor.

_Maybe if you were a better teacher I wouldn't ignore you. _

Ginny wished she had said that to Lockhart in class, but she doubted her housemates would have appreciated it — especially given that he already had taken off 5 points off because of her. She clutched Tom fiercely, bringing the diary closer to her chest.

It had been stupid for her to bring Tom out during class, but the temptation of talking to her best friend while Lockhart was prattling on about another _great adventure _he'd been on was too much. While the rest of the class was half-heartedly paying attention, Tom actually bothered to teach her something useful.

As the class progressed, she got further and further into Tom's lecture and started to lose focus of the world around her. It wasn't until Lockhart tapped her desk that she finally noticed what was going on.

She got lucky: He only took Tom away for the rest of the day. If it had McGonagall she would've taken him for a week. As long as she was going to continue to talk to Tom in class she needed to get better at splitting her attention between Lockhart and Tom.

As Ginny turned the corner she came face to face with Draco Malfoy. The two stared at each other not really knowing what to do. The last time they met was in Flourish and Blotts, and now that felt like a lifetime ago.

_The only way to win with a woman like Narcissa Malfoy is to treat her as respectfully as you treat anyone else._

"Hello, Draco, congratulations on making the Quidditch team," she said.

"Hm, It's only natural. My father was a seeker for Slytherin when he went to school; it's only natural that I'd be one too," he said, standing tall in his uniform.

"Yeah, that's nice. I saw you out there on the pitch today. Half of our house was out there watching you," Ginny said.

Whatever confidence he'd had deflated at the reminder of his performance during lunch. "Go away, Weasley," he sneered.

"Fine, but here's a tip. The reason you're having so much trouble flying is that you're afraid to get hurt. Once you get over your fear of falling you'll fly better."

"I'm not afraid and I don't need your advice, Weasley. I can do this just fine without you," he said, storming off.

Ginny knew she should walk away, but letting a guy like Draco Malfoy have the last word was never going to stand. "Yeah, well it's my team too, you know. If we're going to win then you have to stop being such a baby."

* * *

Tom inhaled as he took the first few breaths he'd had in over fifty years. He grabbed the sheets with his trembling hand as tears started to form in his eyes. Fifty years. Fifty years he'd spent locked within a book. He'd let out a choked sob as he began to breathe.

He brushed away the tears he'd shed and just sat there taking in the simple joy of being alive. He felt his hands massage his face. He felt his hair tickle his shoulders with every turn of his head.

Well, not _his _hair. He thought disdainfully.

Tom slowly made his way off his bed as he tentatively placed one shaky leg on the ground. He hissed as he felt the cold dungeon floor through his socks. He glanced around as he looked around for the brat's wand.

He grinned looking down at the yew wand. With a quick flick of his wrist, he sent a spell flying. The feeling of joy was quickly ruined by the sensation he felt from the wand. The girl's wand was much too short for him; he felt like he had to rush himself with his spells.

Tom glanced down at the freckled hand holding his wand. His curiosity getting the better of him, he quickly searched the room for an available mirror. Stepping before it he took in his current body.

He was short. That much was clear even for an eleven-year-old. And she still had a remarkable amount of baby fat around the cheeks. He looked into the girl's chocolate-coloured eyes. Green would've gone better with the red hair. The red hair was not the best; if he had any say in this he would have had a body with dark hair like his own. Of course, if he had any say in the matter he wouldn't have spent fifty years in a book.

Tom caught the angry look he had in the mirror. It looked rather pathetic on a girl more than half his age. He started making faces in the mirror, from bashful to happy to wicked. The girl gave off no sense of danger or cruelty that his other face had in the past. Any and all attempts at intimidation were laughable at best.

The dark-haired boy turned red-headed girl grinned as he twisted his face into a look of terror, tears welling up in his eyes. "N-no, Professor I didn't see a thing," he said. Tom couldn't help himself as he began to laugh; it got so bad he had to throw up a quick Silencio to not wake up the other girls.

_This I can work with._

Regaining his composure Tom called out a name. "Winky, come now, you have work to do." Within a few moments, a sleepy house-elf appeared before him. It had been prudent of him to have Ginny know at least one house-elf.

"Yes, Miss, what can Winky do?"

"Bring me something to eat; it feels like it's been ages since I've had something to eat," he said.

With a quick pop, the elf was gone. Tom laid down in his bed and waited for the house-elf to return. Dumbledore had no idea he has returned to the castle. It was laughable to think, but this girl was going to bring down the great Albus Dumbledore.


End file.
